1 Samuel 26 21

1 Samuel 26:21 kjv

Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

1 Samuel 26:21 nkjv

Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly."

1 Samuel 26:21 niv

Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong."

1 Samuel 26:21 esv

Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake."

1 Samuel 26:21 nlt

Then Saul confessed, "I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong."

1 Samuel 26 verses

1 Samuel 26 21 Meaning

1 Samuel 26:21 captures King Saul's dramatic confession and a temporary acknowledgment of David's righteousness, prompted by David's second act of mercy in sparing his life. Saul admits his sinful folly in pursuing David and expresses remorse for his aggressive actions, acknowledging David's compassion.

1 Samuel 26 21 Context

This verse is a pivotal moment following David's second opportunity to kill King Saul but choosing to spare him instead. Chapter 26 opens with Saul, incited by the Ziphites, relentlessly pursuing David in the wilderness. David, informed of Saul's presence, infiltrates Saul's encampment at night with Abishai. They find Saul asleep with his spear by his head, and Abishai proposes to strike him down, but David forbids it, stating he will not lay a hand on the Lord's anointed, trusting God alone to end Saul's reign. Instead, David takes Saul's spear and water jug as proof of how close he came. From a distance, David calls out to Abner and then Saul, revealing his presence and displaying the stolen items. Saul recognizes David's voice and is confronted by David's immense mercy and loyalty despite Saul's malicious pursuit. This immediate response from Saul, encapsulated in verse 21, showcases a temporary breakdown of his delusion and a recognition of his profound error. It also highlights the repetitive nature of Saul's emotional, yet fleeting, "repentance" from the previous incident in the cave of En Gedi (1 Sam 24), ultimately showing his character had not genuinely changed.

1 Samuel 26 21 Word analysis

• Then said Saul: This immediate response highlights Saul's astonishment and momentary breaking of his relentless animosity.
• "I have sinned.": (Hebrew: חטאתי, chatati). A direct confession of moral wrong. While grammatically a full admission, in Saul's history (cf. 1 Sam 15:24), it often lacked genuine repentance or led to sustained behavioral change, suggesting it could be driven by expediency or temporary remorse rather than a deep spiritual conviction of guilt before God.
• "Return, my son David,": (Hebrew: שובה בני דוד, shuvah b'ni Dawid). "Return" is an invitation to come back, signaling a desire for reconciliation. "My son" is a term of affection or endearment, perhaps manipulative or genuinely reflecting a fleeting softening of heart, starkly contrasting with Saul's previous malicious "son of Jesse" insults (cf. 1 Sam 20:27).
• "for I will no more do you harm,": (Hebrew: כי לא אפרע לך עוד, ki lo e-pra' l'ka 'od). A promise to cease hostilities. "Do you harm" (e-pra') signifies acting wickedly or ill-treating. History proves this promise hollow; Saul would quickly resume his persecution, revealing the superficiality of this statement.
• "because my life was precious in your eyes this day.": (Hebrew: כי יקרה נפשי בעיניך היום הזה, ki y'karah nafshi b'eyneyka ha'yom ha'zeh). Saul admits that David values his life ("precious" from yaqar, meaning costly, valuable, dear), which David demonstrated by sparing him. "This day" emphasizes the immediate context of David's radical mercy, highlighting the vividness of the contrast between David's action and Saul's persistent pursuit.
• "Behold,": (Hebrew: הנה, hinneh). An emphatic interjection drawing attention to the weighty confession about to be made.
• "I have played the fool": (Hebrew: נואלתי, no'alti). Derived from נבל (naval), meaning "foolish," "vile," or "impious." This is a severe self-condemnation, suggesting a moral and spiritual senselessness or wickedness, not just a simple mistake. It indicates a profoundly irrational and morally bankrupt pursuit, implying he acted contrary to wisdom and God's will.
• "and have erred exceedingly.": (Hebrew: ואטעה הרבה מאוד, va'e-te'h harbeh m'od). "Erred" (from ta'ah) means to stray, go astray, wander off course, indicating a deviation from the right path. "Exceedingly" (harbeh m'od) amplifies the magnitude of his mistake, stressing the enormity and gravity of his error. This compounds the "played the fool" statement, acknowledging a profound and vast wrongdoing.

Words-group analysis:

• "I have sinned... I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly": This phrase progression reflects an increasing degree of self-awareness and self-condemnation. "Sinned" is a general confession; "played the fool" identifies the nature of his sin as irrational and morally bankrupt; "erred exceedingly" underlines the extent and severity of his grave error. This constitutes the most intense form of confession from Saul throughout the narrative, recognizing the immense wrong he had done.
• "Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day": This segment intertwines Saul's invitation to David with the core reason for his sudden change of heart. His promise not to harm David is primarily rooted in David's gracious act, rather than in deep repentance for his own malice. This motivation reveals that his remorse is contingent on David's goodness towards him, indicating a reactive sorrow over the consequences of his sin (almost being killed by David, but not) rather than an intrinsic sorrow for sin itself.

1 Samuel 26 21 Bonus section

• The recurrence of David sparing Saul (first in 1 Sam 24, now in 1 Sam 26) is a narrative technique that accentuates David's unwavering character and contrasts it sharply with Saul's persistent spiritual and emotional instability. It underlines that Saul's "repentance" is never transformative.
• Saul's focus on "my life was precious in your eyes" indicates that his "repentance" is primarily self-focused and emotionally driven by relief or temporary gratitude rather than true sorrow for sin against God or for persecuting the innocent.
• The phrase "played the fool" (naval) is used in Proverbs to describe those who are morally bankrupt or impious (e.g., the fool who says "there is no God"). This deep self-assessment from Saul highlights the profound depth of his spiritual deterioration and how far he had fallen from God's guidance.

1 Samuel 26 21 Commentary

Saul's words in 1 Samuel 26:21 present a powerful but ultimately tragic picture of a soul teetering on the edge of confession without genuine repentance. His admission, "I have sinned," echoed before, is typically not followed by sustained change in his actions. His declaration "I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly" is perhaps his most candid and humbling self-assessment in the biblical record, acknowledging the deep moral and spiritual bankruptcy of his relentless, divinely-opposed pursuit of David. This moment of clarity, however, is prompted by David's exceptional act of grace—sparing Saul's life again—which shames and disarms the king. Saul's subsequent promise to cease harm is proven hollow by his continued efforts against David until his own death. This highlights the crucial theological distinction between acknowledging wrongdoing and true repentance which involves a turning from sin and a change of heart and behavior. David's consistent response of grace, respect for God's anointed, and trust in divine justice illuminates his own character as a man after God's heart, patiently waiting for the Lord's timing rather than taking matters into his own hands.